


Not What I'm Looking For

by teagarden15



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28407639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teagarden15/pseuds/teagarden15
Summary: A conversation between Izumi and Misumi leaves Izumi reevaluating their relationship.
Relationships: Ikaruga Misumi/Tachibana Izumi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve kind of wanted to write this fic for a while and after Yuna1729 left a comment on Misumi’s chapter of Wish that they now ship these two, I decided to write it!

A mistake with printing the fliers for Mankai’s latest play led to there being several leftover afterward (poor Taichi was still in the dog house with Sakyo over that mistake), so Izumi wasn’t surprised to go out to the courtyard and find Misumi throwing paper airplane after paper airplane. 

“No competitors today?” she asked. An abundance of scrap paper often led to paper airplane contests between her actors, much to Sakyo’s annoyance. Although, this was one activity she thought he should let slide. It wasn’t like they could reuse the flyers, not even for their traveling plays since they lsited the dates of the original run on them. 

“Everyone else is out right now,” Misumi said, giving her a smile before launching another plane. This one landed on the roof. 

“You might want to make sure you only throw those where you can reach them,” she suggested. “You know how upset Sakyo will be if he finds any of these airplanes lying around.”

“Oh, I can get it,” he told her before making a running leap for the balcony. He caught the edge and hauled himself up, balancing on the top of the railing before grabbing the edge of the roof and launching himself on top of it. 

Her heart jumped into her throat at the terrifying display of acrobatics, but she didn’t dare say anything or chastise him in case it ruined his focus. She knew that his abilities were incredible, but she wished he wouldn’t be so reckless. 

From the roof, he shot the airplane back down, aiming it so it landed at her feet. 

“Tada!” he called and she couldn’t help smiling. His way back down was even more impressive, being interspersed with flips and she had to hold her tongue again. Of all her actors, Misumi was the one most likely to give her a heart attack. He generally held back since he knew she didn’t like him traveling between different floors without the use of stairs, but he must have felt like showing off today. 

She wanted to remind him he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he looked so pleased that she couldn’t bear to. 

“Have you already finished your part-time job today?” she asked. “Or will you be working this evening?” His latest part-time job often had him working in the evenings. It made her a little nervous for him to walk home alone so often after dark, but she was pretty sure he could outrun 99.99% of people in the world, so that made it less of a concern. 

“That job is finished,” Misumi explained, grabbing another paper from the ground and folding it into an intricate design full of triangles. “I’ll find a new one soon.”

There were plenty of stable part-time jobs, but Misumi seemed to have no interest in taking them. All of his part-time jobs were temporary. She wondered if he needed the variety of all the different jobs since he struggled to keep his attention centered on thing. She was pretty sure that other than triangles, Mankai was the only consistent thing in his life. 

“Are you happy being an actor here?” she asked, wondering if he ever tired of acting. He didn’t seem to, though maybe doing different plays had enough variety to keep his interest. 

He paused in his folding to give her a surprised look and then a smile. “Yes. Acting is so much fun.” His smile widened. “And all my friends are here, and I can still go triangle hunting, and everyone is always so nice!”

Izumi loved Misumi’s smile. He and Sakuya brightened her day in a way no one else did. But his words made her sad. She wasn’t sure he’d ever had friends outside of Mankai. At least, not any who bothered to stick around. Misumi was definitely a bit different, but he was wonderful. It broke her heart that anyone would look at his differences and decide not to be around him because of it. Like his family for instance. 

A swell of protectiveness and love for Misumi swelled in her heart. “Can I just adopt you as my little brother?” she asked, only half-joking. She’d always like the idea of siblings and her actors were precious to her. She’d be happy to have ties to them that lasted until the end of their lives. 

Misumi hesitated, an unreadable look coming over his face as he looked down at the unfinished airplane in his hand. “That’s not . . . really the kind of relationship I want with you.” He said, still looking at the paper airplane. 

Izumi blinked. For half a second she was hurt, but then Misumi gave her a quick peck on her cheek, causing her face to turn red. 

“If you want to think of me as your little brother, that’s fine, but that’s not how I feel about you,” he said, finishing up his airplane. 

Her mouth rounded in an ‘oh’ of surprise, though she covered it with her hand. She’d never picked up on Misumi having any feelings other than friendship for her. She couldn’t even imagine what Misumi flirting would look like. But, since he was Misumi, maybe it would look different from when other guys flirted. She thought back over past interactions, wondering if she’d missed signs. She was the only girl he’d invited to go triangle hunting, but she also didn’t know if Misumi knew any other women beyond the old ladies around the neighborhood who adored him for his kindness. 

Studying him as he continued on with his airplanes, she had to admit that he had a lot of good points. He was kind, handsome, loyal, and athletic and she found herself wondering what a romantic relationship with him would be like. 

He gave her a curious look after a few moments and she flushed, hoping he hadn’t realized she’d been staring at him. “Do you want to make some paper airplanes too?” he asked. 

“Yes!” she said too quickly, hoping to distract them both from what she’d been doing. He handed her a paper and she began folding. They held a competition, which she knew she would lose. Her paper airplane skills were decent, but no one beat Misumi. 

As they were gathering up their paper airplanes after she told him, “That’s fine if we have a different kind of relationship. I just . . . want you in my life for a really long time, that’s all.”

He flashed her the smile she loved, something in him seeming to relax at her words. “I don’t have plans to go anywhere. This is my home.” He hesitated a moment, a rare thing for him. “You’re part of my home.” He looked vulnerable as he said the last line.

She stopped him in his cleaning to pull him into a hug. He was surprised at first, but buried his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms around her. “I feel the same way,” she told him, squeezing him tighter. “And I’m so glad you’re here.” She didn’t know if she would ever return Misumi’s romantic feelings, but she couldn’t deny a certain excitement when she thought about what their future together might hold.


	2. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be one chapter, but Arlen_12’s enthusiastic comment on the first chapter made me want to write more, so this will be a three chapter fic instead :)

Misumi felt pathetic as he walked home. It was a feeling he hated, which was why he avoided thinking of his family as much as possible since thoughts of his parents always brought up feelings of inferiority. But it was kind of hard not to think of his parents after running into his mom at the mall while he’d been working a part-time job at one of the kiosks. 

She’d been disgusted to see him, the curl of her lip as she spotted Misumi clear in his memory. He was taller than her, but she always made him feel so small. She’d almost walked past him after giving him that terrible look and he’d prayed she’d keep going and thought maybe he should run away in case she didn’t. He should have run away. 

She’d marched over to him, raising her chin as she gazed at his uniform in distaste. Her words still rang in his ears, words that he desperately wanted to drown out, to argue against. He still didn’t know why he hadn’t said anything, why he hadn’t done anything. Maybe because he felt too powerless against his mother, even though maybe she wasn’t really his mother anymore since she’d disowned him. Or maybe because he was afraid she was right. Either way, he wished he could drown out her words. 

“I hope you can see why your father and I made the right decision in making Madoka our heir and getting rid of you. The heir to the Ikaruga family must be and do many things. Among those is marry and provide an heir.” She’d huffed as she gestured at the kiosk he stood at. “What woman would ever want you? You’ll never be able to provide for a family. You have nothing to offer anyone, including yourself.” 

Her gaze had been cold as she stared at him, but he’d said nothing, as he always did. 

“I’ll never understand how such a disgrace came from the Ikaruga family, but I hope you’re pleased with your pointless life. We’re all much better with things this way.” After that, she’d flung her hair of her shoulder and strode away. 

He didn’t know why she’d felt the need to speak to him. It was the first time she’d seen him since disowning him. The only thing he could guess at was that she always had liked to have the last word. 

Something inside him crumbled as he went straight to his room at Mankai and curled up in a corner so he could bury his face in his knees and block out the world. Now he felt even more stupid for letting Izumi know he felt something for her a few weeks ago. Did he really think there was a chance someone as amazing as her would want to be with him? No, he hadn’t, he just hadn’t wanted her thinking of him as her younger brother, but maybe he could have done that in a way that didn’t reveal he had feelings for her. 

Usually, thinking of Izumi made him happy. She brought so much light into his world. She’d given him a home, a family, a place where he belonged and was accepted. And she was always so happy and hard-working. It motivated him to try harder too. He loved the delight on her face when he showed her a new trick he’d learned, and how she kept all the triangle treasures he gave her. How she went triangle hunting with him and helped Omi make his food triangle shaped. 

But how did she think of him? He knew she cared about him. He absolutely knew that. But did she think of him only in a little brother way? Did she think he would make a worthless boyfriend? That he was too unreliable for a relationship like that? 

A soft knock came on his door, but he didn’t respond. 

“Misumi?” Izumi’s voice called. “I have lunch for you. I was expecting you to come to the kitchen when you got home from work. Did something happen? Or did you already eat?” 

He didn’t respond, not wanting her to see him in such a pathetic state when maybe she already thought he was pathetic as a man. 

Slowly, the door opened. “Misumi?” she said, her voice gentle. He kept his head against his knees, though heard her walking closer. There was the sound of her putting a plate down and then her hand was resting on his back. “Misumi? What happened?” 

He knew he could tell her and she wouldn’t think less of him, he knew it. He’d once heard Izumi ranting to Sakyo about his, Sakuya’s, and Masumi’s families. She’d been protective of the three of them and critical and angry about their families. But his mother always destroyed his confidence in himself. He was too afraid of seeing an expression on Izumi’s face similar to his mother’s, even though she was nothing like his mom. 

She scooted closer, the hand on his back becoming an arm wrapped around his shoulders as she leaned against him. “I’m right here,” she whispered, “but tell me if you want me to leave, okay?”

He shook his head before whispering, “Don’t leave.” Did that make him more pathetic that he wanted her here even though he wasn’t willing to talk to her? But he still found her presence, her touch comforting. Though part of him couldn’t help wishing it meant more than it really did. 

They stayed like that for a long time, Misumi slowly relaxing into Izumi until he fell asleep. 

When he woke up, he was surprised that she was still there. Though when he lifted his head to gaze at her, he saw that she had fallen asleep too. He smiled at the sight. He’d never seen her asleep before, but she looked so cute. It made him want to snuggle closer, but that thought reminded him that he wasn’t very good boyfriend material. 

He started to pull away from her, though froze when the movement woke Izumi up. She blinked up at him, smiling an adorably sleepy smile for a moment before the look transformed into one of concern. 

“Do you want to talk about what upset you?” she asked, brushing hair out of his eyes. The gesture hurt because he didn’t know if it was something you would do to someone you viewed as a child, or someone you viewed as a man or potential love interest. He found himself desperately wanting to know, and ended up telling her what happened. 

The words spilled out, his gaze on the far wall as he spoke, because he couldn’t bear to look at Izumi when he told her what happened. After he finished, he glanced at her and saw horror on her face. 

“I hate your family,” she whispered, then seemed to shake the thought off as her face shifted into defensive mode and she put her arm around his shoulders again. “She’s wrong, Misumi, about everything. Absolutely everything. I don’t know much about her thoughts or feelings, but it sounds to me like she was trying to convince herself that she did the right thing, not you. I think she feels guilty, but is too arrogant and stubborn to admit she did something wrong.”

While Misumi’s mother was arrogant and stubborn, he didn’t think Izumi was right, but it made him feel a little better to hear her say those words. 

“But what do you think?” he whispered, looking at the ground. “I mean of me as a boyfriend. Is she right about me not having anything to offer? What would you think of me as a boyfriend?” he repeated, trying to stress that he wanted her personal opinion about what kind of boyfriend she thought he would be, and not some trite statement about how he was a nice guy. 

She didn’t say anything and he felt small and pathetic again until he looked up and saw that she was blushing. He blinked. Thinking of him as a boyfriend made her blush? “Izumi?” he prompted. 

“Um, I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot lately,” she said, her voice higher than normal. “Ever since we talked when we made paper airplanes together a few weeks ago. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed me staring at you.”

Her words almost made him smile. She’d been thinking about him? As a boyfriend? His almost smile turned into an almost frown. But was she thinking of him as a potential boyfriend in general, or as her potential boyfriend? 

She cleared her throat and looked him in his eyes, her blush still there, but less now. “I think that you would be an incredibly caring and sweet boyfriend, Misumi.”

“You don’t think that I’d be unreliable?” he pressed. 

She smiled. “Misumi, you’ve been one of my actors for two years now and you’ve always been reliable. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t count on you as a member of Summer Troupe or as a friend. Why would that be different if you were a boyfriend?” 

Unable to hold back, he half threw himself at her in a hug, burying his face in her neck. He always felt so comfortable with her like this. It was a place he wanted to stay forever. “But would you want me as a boyfriend?” he whispered, then changed the wording. “Do you want me as a boyfriend?” It was unfair to ask her like this and he knew it, but he found himself craving that relationship with Izumi, craving the ability and the right to be close with her, closer than anyone else. To be able to hug her or hold her whenever he wanted to. 

“Yes,” she whispered back, one hand coming up to hold the back of his head. “Yes, Misumi, I do want to try being your girlfriend.”

He pulled back in surprise, his heart pounding at her words even as he felt disbelief. “Really? You do?” 

She smiled, moving her hand to cup his cheek. “Yes, Misumi, I do.” She hesitated a moment and he held his breath, both afraid and excited of what might come next. “Honestly, I’d like the support of someone I can talk to and be with and not have to worry about anything else. I think you would be really supportive of that. That’s what’s been on my mind lately.”

He smiled. “That’s what I love about you! That I can just talk or just be with you and not worry about anything else.”

She smiled back and he felt dizzy with relief. Izumi thought he was reliable. She thought he would make a good boyfriend. She wanted to date him. This all felt like a dream. 

“I’m so happy,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against her shoulder and intertwining his fingers with hers. Izumi believed in him. She’d always believed in him and even thought of him as a man. He didn’t really know what it meant to be a good boyfriend since he’d never wanted to be in a romantic relationship before Izumi was in his life, but he vowed that he and Izumi would make this work. Though their relationship had just begun, he knew it was something too precious for him to lose.


End file.
